[Liver cirrhosis in Brazil: mortality and productive years of life lost prematurely].

This descriptive study was done using official data on mortality from cirrhosis of the liver for the year 1989. Its objectives were: (a) to describe mortality from cirrhosis of the liver in Brazilian adults; (b) to estimate the productive years of life lost (PYLL) prematurely (between 20 and 59 years of age) from this cause; and (c) to identify any regional differences in mortality or PYLL. The crude data were adjusted by age and sex, using the 1980 population of Brazil as the standard. Calculation of PYLL was based on the formula of Romeder and McWhinnie for years of potential life lost, modified by the author to express productive years of life lost. The crude death rates were higher in the Southeast and North, and in all regions they were higher in males, the countrywide male/female ratio being 4.5. Mortality rates among males varied from 14.37 per 100,000 in the Center-West to 35.86 per 100,000 in the Southeast; for females the rates ranged from 3.49 to 8.5 per 100,000 in the Center-West and North, respectively. The mortality curves by age for men showed a decline or stabilization after age 60, except in the North. For men in that region, the curve continued to rise, and the rate reached 86.37 per 100,000 after age 70. The curves for women also rose, most markedly in the North and Northeast. The age-adjusted rates showed a reduction for women in the Southeast, while rates in the North remained higher. Mortality from cirrhosis of the liver accounted for 48.7% of deaths from disorders of the digestive system among men and 24.1% among women. Of the 138,860 PYLL from cirrhosis of the liver in 1989, 83.2% were lost among males, while the average for the country, around 15.5 years, was similar for both sexes. However, the average PYLL for men and women in the North and women in the Center-West was much higher than in the other regions. The data suggest that cirrhosis of the liver among men in all the regions, except the North, is probably attributable to alcoholism. Among males from the North, there is strong evidence that cirrhosis with a viral etiology (hepatitis B and C virus) also exists. For women, the evidence suggests that cirrhosis of viral etiology predominates.